Movin’on up: An Introduction to

the NOSM Joint and Stipendiary

Faculty Promotions Process

Dr. Maurianne Reade, MD, CCFP(EM), FCFP

Associate Professor NOSM

Ms. Anita Arella MA

Director, Faculty Affairs and CEPD

Conflict Disclosure Information:

Presenter: Dr M Reade

Title of Presentation: Movin’ on up: An introduction the

NOSM promotions process

I have no financial or personal relationships to disclose

Conflict Disclosure Information:

• Presenter: A Arella

• Title of Presentation: Movin’ On Up

• Has no financial or personal relationships to disclose

Objectives

1. Describe the NOSM promotion process.

2. Assess essential elements of a successful

application at each level from Assistant

Professor to Professor.

3. Discuss specific requirements for

promotion: consider seeking promotion

and/or joining the committee.

Pros and Cons of Promotion

Cons• You’ll need new business cards

• TIME to prepare your application

• No impact upon teaching compensation rate

Pros• You need new business cards anyway

• A great reason to update your CV and portfolio

• Promotion often transferable to other schools

• Get recognized by peers

• Get credit for the good work as teacher, mentor,

clinician in your community

• Impacts remuneration of physician

administrative roles

• Opportunity for self-reflection

• Strengthen your position in research proposals

Initial Academic Rank

• Recommendation made by Associate Dean,

Faculty Affairs in consultation with Section

Chair

• Division Head in consult with Section Chair

makes recommendation to Dean

• Considers qualifications, experience and

achievements

• If appointment exists at another University,

NOSM assigns same rank

NOSM Promotions – the Theory!

• Recognition of problems within promotion tracks at

Academic Medical Centres since the 90s.

• “Documentation systems can provide the framework

for organizing educational efforts”(Fleming et al,

2005).

• Publications still the main focus in many centres.

– a call to “create a contemporary formula that incorporates

innovative educational projects as part of the faculty

promotion process”. (Booth & Gehrie, 2016)

• How to adequately assess the roles of...

– clinician-researcher

– clinician-educator

– clinician-leader

NOSM Promotions Committee

Policies & Procedures History

• Promotion language from 2005 Faculty Handbook

guided development

• Reviewed & amended by Faculty Affairs, Physician

Clinical Teachers Association and the NOSM Faculty

and Staff Association

• Approved by Academic Council and the NOSM Board

of Directors, June 2011

• Updated with input from Promotions Committee,

Faculty Association, PCTA, Division Heads &

Section Chairs; Approved by Academic Council May

2016. The updated Promotions Policy includes a

definition of community engaged scholarly activity.

Promotions Committee

Activity

Chair Year Reviewed Promoted

Dr. J. Haggarty 2011/12 21 16

Dr. Barb Zelek 2012/13 18 12

Dr. Barb Zelek 2013/14 22 20

Dr. David MacLean 2014/15 19 15

Dr. David MacLean 2015/16 32 18

Dr. Owen Prowse 2016/17 23 14

Dr. Owen Prowse 2017/18 15 12

Dr. Maurianne Reade 2018/19 10 9

Total to date 160 116

Promotions committee

Membership

Section 6.3 Promotions Policy

• 4 members of the Physician Clinical Teachers Association

• Dr. Maurianne Reade

• Dr. Ella Goodman

• Dr. Sarah Facca

• Dr. Rony Atoui

• 2 members of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine

• Dr. Penny Moody Corbett

• Dr. Robert Smith

• 3 members of NOSM Faculty and Staff Association member

• Dr. Roxanne Deslauriers

• Dr. Chimere Okoronwko

• Ms. Lee Rysdale

Promotions Committee

Timeline

• Member recruitment – August/September

• First meeting to review membership, policy, processes

(including conflict of interest) – November

• Promotion applications reviewed & meetings –

December to March

• Recommendations to Dean – May 30

• The Dean strives to notify applicants – within 30 days

• Announcement at Northern Constellations - the

following year

Promotions Committee

Responsibilities

Committee members:

• receive documentation (Dropbox)

• review (3-4) applications prior to each scheduled

meeting

• discuss applications & make recommendations

for/against promotion

Minimum of 5 members must review each application for

promotion; at least 1 rep of each committee

subgroup(PCTA, NOSM, NOSM Faculty & Staff

Association)

Sounds easy?... Time to apply!

• Base criteria for each level

• 4 Domains reviewed for promotion

• Tips for success

Base Criteria - Assistant Professor

• Has an MD degree, a master’s degree, a professional

health degree

• If the candidate does not have the degree but has

professional experience sufficient to allow a

contribution to the school, explain why the

candidate’s background merits promotion.

• The candidate has provided academic contribution over

AT LEAST a 5 year period (exceptional performance

can reduce the requirement).

• >/=50% of candidate’s contributions must be to

NOSM

Base Criteria - Associate Professor

• Has an MD degree, a master’s degree, a professional

health degree

• If the candidate does not have the degree but has

professional experience sufficient to allow a

contribution to the school, explain why the

candidate’s background merits promotion.

• The candidate has AT LEAST 5 years of experience at

the Assistant Professor rank (exceptional

performance as an Assistant Professor can reduce the

requirement to 4 years).

• >/=50% of candidate’s contributions must be to

NOSM

Base Criteria - Professor

• Has an M.D. degree, another health professional

degree, a Master’s degree

• If the candidate does not have the degree but has

professional experience sufficient to allow a

contribution to the school, explain why the

candidate’s background merits promotion.

• The candidate has AT LEAST 5 years of experience at

the rank of Associate Professor rank (exceptional

achievement while an Associate Professor could reduce

this experience requirement to 4 years)

• >/=50% of candidate's contributions must be to

NOSM

I want to apply! Now what?

Timeline for Applicants

• Notice to eligible Faculty regarding promotions

– March/April

• A meeting with Section Chair or Division Head

(if no Section Chair) to review your application

before applying is required – request due by

June 1st

• Application deadline – September 30th

• Applicants will receive a conflict of interest

letter (re: Promotion Committee members)

Timeline for Applicants

• Section Chair in consult with Division Head will choose 3

Division members to provide written assessments of

applicant

• Division Head/Section chair makes recommendation to

committee – should this applicant receive promotion to

higher rank – by December 31st.

• Promotion Committee meetings – Dec. to March

• Recommendations to Dean – May 30

• Dean strives to notify applicants – within 30 days

• Announcement at Northern Constellations - the following

year (April)

Working through the application

• Application for promotion Clinical Sciences Division instructions

• Cover letter and updated curriculum vitae

• Contributions dossier (your own or the NOSM version available on website at www.nosm.ca )

• Learner evaluations – recent

• Copy of research/ creative works*

• Referees –– 3 for Assistant & Associate

– 4 External for Professor

Mixed methodology research…About you

Cover letter

• Time to show off and highlight your

strengths

• If there are deficient areas, highlight these

in your cover letter and provide a valid

explanation

• See cover letter template

Updated CV

• Keep one on file, consider updating yearly

• See template CV available on the Faculty Promotion

Application Information page – Don’t Panic-14 pages

• Includes formats for publications & presentations– Journal Articles

– [Presented in reverse chronological order]

–

1. [Author(s) – CV holder’s name bolded]. [Title of article]. [Journal name]. [Rest

of citation]. [Status – only if in press]. Impact Factor [Impact Factor], (Trainee

Publication, [Trainee Details] – only if it is a trainee publication). [Role].

Contributions Dossier

• Academic teaching sessions

• WGC, DTS, VARS, SCS, LAB, TOS etc.

• But I haven’t kept track…

• Clinical teaching days

• Actual # of days? Do your best; provide an

explanation if you do not know specifics

• NOSM contact (UME Jennifer Maxfield, PGE

Rachel Schaaf)

• Curriculum development

• Administrative, Research & Scholarly work-

summary/highlights

Teaching Activity

Learner Evaluations

• Current NOSM process regarding learner

evaluations

NOSM Faculty Evaluation Process

Small Group Session

(CBL1, TOS2, SCS3)

(VAR4, Academic Rounds)

For CBL, TOS, SCS: All learners

evaluate each faculty member’s

performance at the end of each module

For VAR, Academic Rounds: All

learners evaluate each faculty member’s

performance after each session

Whole Group Session

LAB Session

Learner Evaluation

Forms

All learners evaluate each

faculty member’s

performance

Clinical Teaching

All learners evaluate each

faculty member’s

performance after each

rotationc

Completed

Learner Evaluation Forms

Create

NOSM Faculty Evaluation Reporta

Send Report to Faculty Memberb

Carbon copy Report to Member’s Respective Division Head/Section Chair

Attach read receipt of report in e-mail sent to Division Head

Division Head/Section Chair reviews report and

decides to further discuss issue/concern with faculty

member

Data Consolidation

Data Analysis

NOSM Evaluation Process

1CBL: Case Based Learning2TOS: Topic-Oriented Session3SCS: Structured Clinical Session4VAR: Virtual Academic Round

aTeaching evaluations are not made available to learners or the public (distribution is exclusively

to the faculty member and Division Head/Section Chair)

bPeer evaluations of teaching shall be confidential material, to be examined only by the Member,

the Member’s Division Head/Section Chair, and if the Member wishes it, the Associate Dean

FA.

cPhase 3 students evaluate physician teacher and faculty member for academic rounds on a 4-

week rotation schedule. Phase 2, 3 and residents evaluate physician teacher on a monthly basis,

but may evaluate more than one faculty member during this time period.

Division Heads/Section Chairs are free to comment on peer and learner evaluations of teaching

in general terms in their letters of reference.

Recent learner evaluations

Where do I get these?

• debbie.reed@nosm.ca is your friend

NOSM Faculty Evaluation Process

Referees – Assistant & Associate

Professor Applicants

• Provide 3 names of referees

• The Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, a

Section Chair, the Division Head of Clinical

Sciences and members of the Promotions

Committee cannot be referees.

• Clinical Sciences Coordinator will contact

them to write reference letter

• Template provided to make this easy

Referees – Professor applicants

• Applicants suggests 4 external referees qualified to

assess the research and creative works of the applicant

(at least 2 of those referees must be from outside the host

universities)

• 2 will be chosen

• 2 additional external referees are selected by the Division

Head (must have expertise to enable a critical evaluation

of the candidate, and be at arms length with respect to the

candidate.)

• External referees cannot be a NOSM faculty member, a

Promotion Committee member, the applicant’s Masters,

Ph.D., or postdoctoral supervisor, or a research

collaborator.

• Faculty members from host universities (Lakehead &

Laurentian) are allowed, as are employment supervisors

who meet the criteria stated above.

Domains reviewed for promotion

• Teaching Activity

• Clinical Competence

• Administration

• Scholarly Activity (Boyer’s definition of

community engaged scholarly activity)

The criteria for competent performance in all spheres

are applied with increasing stringency as experience

and rank increases.

Teaching Activity

Academic and/or clinical teaching:

• Contributions Dossier

• Learner evaluations

• Referee letters

• Participation in faculty development.

Innovative teaching methods include:

• Flipped classroom

• Podcasts for learners

• Simulation

• Others?

Clinical Competence

Will be assessed by:

• Letters of reference

• Participation in continuing education

• Development of special interests and

expertise

• Development of innovative techniques,

approaches & procedures

• significant value particularly due to impact

on the practice of other clinicians

• Meeting requirements of professional bodies:

CFPC & RCPSC

Administration

• Contribution to administrative activities at

NOSM or to outside professional bodies

• Organization of courses, service on hospital,

NOSM and professional organization

committees

• Summary in dossier; details in CV

Scholarly Activity

• Research, publications, scholarly presentations,

grantsmanship, editorial responsibilities, curriculum

development and review, etc.

• Research may include quality assurance activities

• “Basic or bench research activity is not a requirement

for Clinical Faculty members”

… but strong research may be used to offset lesser activity in

another area

• Summary or highlights in Contributions Dossier, details

in CV

.

Scholarly Activity includes

Creative works..

Tips for Success -background

• A How to Apply For Promotion Guide is essential

reading.

– The Guide can be found on the NOSM Faculty Promotion

Application and Information page.

• The Contributions Dossier is an excellent resource to

jog an applicant’s memory about his/her contributions.

– The Committee needs to see this document. It’s not

optional.

• Section Chairs are a great resource. Use their

expertise.

• Applying for promotion is not like competing in a race.

Take your time to gather all the necessary documents.

• Be sure to cite your NOSM affiliation and rank in all your

scholarly activity

• Consider potential referees carefully

Tips for Success – from Dept. Chairs

• Document & track all activities including objective

measures of teaching or clinical success

• Achieve a reputation for excellence

• Publish all scholarly activity

• Get help from a mentor to set & meet your goals &

objectives

• Develop an area of expertise of focus for your work

• Be involved in research

• Be actively involved in getting yourself promoted

• Develop curricula or other educational projects

• (Atasoylu et al, 2003)

Tips For Success - paperwork

• If it’s time to submit, then submit on time:

– September 30th!

• Follow guidelines… incomplete applications will be

returned for future resubmission.

• Strong cover letter.

• Utilize the templates.

• CV

• Use appropriate spelling and grammar. If you

need help, get help with editing BEFORE

submitting your application.

• Use the How to Apply For Promotions Guide

• Avoid handwritten submissions

Summary

Described the NOSM promotion process.

Reviewed essential elements of a successful

application at each level from Assistant Professor

to Professor.

Links/Resources

Links/Resources

Links/Resources• http://www.nosm.ca/uploadedFiles/About_Us/Organization/Academic/Clinical_Sci

ences/Policy%20Procedures%20Governing%20Jt%20Stipendiary%20Faculty%20

Promotions.pdf

• http://www.nosm.ca/csdfacultypromotionapplication/

• http://www.nosm.ca/dossier/

• http://www.nosm.ca/uploadedFiles/About_Us/Organization/Academic/Clinical_Sci

ences/Promotion%20How%20To%20Guide.pdf

• Atasoylu AA, Wright SM, of general … B-B. Promotion criteria for

clinician‐educators.Journal of general …. 2003. doi:10.1046/j.1525-

1497.2003.10425.x.

• Booth, G. S., & Gehrie, E. A. (2016). Clinician-Educator Track Career

Advancement in Academic Medicine: Time to Update the Scoresheet. Academic

medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 91(10), 1329–

30.

• Fleming VM, Schindler N, Martin GJ, DaRosa DA. Separate and Equitable

Promotion Tracks for Clinician-Educators. JAMA. 2005;294(9):1101–1104.

doi:10.1001/jama.294.9.1101

• Hauer, K. E., & Papadakis, M. A. (2010). Assessment of the Contributions of

Clinician Educators. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25(1), 5–6.

• Sherertz, E. F. (2000). Criteria of the “educators’ pyramid” fulfilled by medical

school faculty promoted on a teaching pathway. Academic medicine : journal of

the Association of American Medical Colleges, 75(9), 954–6.

Questions

Maurianne Reade

mreade@nosm.ca

Anita Arella

aarella@nosm.ca